photo by: AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

Mississippi State guard Shakeel Moore (3) shoots from 3-point range during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Kentucky, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Starkville, Miss.

Shakeel Moore felt a pop in his ankle right as he jumped during an offseason pickup game and quickly realized that he wasn’t going to simply play through the injury.

“It didn’t hurt, though… but I tried to walk it off, and I couldn’t put much pressure on it,” Moore said. “I didn’t twist, I didn’t roll. I literally jumped, and I just heard it.”

Moore was already a relatively late addition to the Kansas basketball team. The day after Elmarko Jackson tore his patellar tendon in June, Kansas coach Bill Self earned Moore’s commitment. As a strong defender, Moore came in from Mississippi State with an immediate role available. Over the first couple of weeks, Moore said he felt he was showing the Jayhawks everything from leadership to scoring and was ready to make an immediate impact.

Injuries complicated things. Moore said that he had minor surgery at the end of the summer training session, and then the new foot injury came one day into the fall. The transfer was ready to step into a prominent role for the Jayhawks, but he hasn’t yet been able to impact the team as he hoped. With the rest of the team working out together in practices, Moore cannot compete as he is still recovering from the injury.

The veteran player has dealt with this sort of thing before. Moore has played four seasons at two different universities. He has been around and seen a lot, and he has a lot of respect for the school he’s now at. He’s dreamt of finishing his college career at a place like KU. A foot injury won’t deter him from fulfilling that dream.

“It gives me the utmost confidence (to be at KU),” Moore said. “My brothers told me, ‘Man, Shak, you’re at KU.’ These are things we dreamed about as kids, and it’s a blessing to be here. I’m soaking it in every day. To end my career here, I’m still starstruck.”

Moore wants to bring leadership to the team. He remains vocal with the team and dedicates his time to learning the plays in the same way he would had he not gotten injured.

Mentally, the injury hasn’t affected Moore too much. He’s a fifth-year player who has lived through many basketball situations. The only thing he’s worried about is catching back up once he returns to the court.

“I just want to pick up where I left off over the summer,” Moore said. “I see these guys every day. They put in the blood, sweat and tears every day.”

Moore isn’t the biggest guard, as his listed height is 6-foot-1. He was a solid scorer for the Bulldogs last year, but that isn’t what brought him to Lawrence. He is best known for his defensive capabilities. He was named to a watchlist for national defensive player of the year honors as a junior.

Self said that Moore “could be our best on-ball defender.” Mississippi State had the 32nd-best defensive rating in the country last year, according to KenPom.

On offense, as Self put it, “He’s not a scorer, but he can make a shot.” Moore averaged 7.9 points per game with 1.8 assists per game, shooting 46.8% from the field and 36.3% from beyond the arc.

Once healthy, he and guards such as Dajuan Harris Jr., Zeke Mayo and David Coit (with Coit added as a late-summer transfer following Jackson’s injury) will create a formidable backcourt.

“I can’t see a reason health-wise that he can’t be close to full speed by the first week of November, something like that,” Self said.

Things have been up and down since Moore arrived in Lawrence — an opportunity to carve out a greater role early on was hurt by injuries. But that won’t stop Moore from being ready to hit the court as soon as he’s cleared. And when he does, all the talk with his brothers growing up will come to fruition.